(a) Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the provisions described in subdivision (b) are waived or modified, in accordance with this section, during the portion of the 2019–20 school year in which schools were closed due to the pandemic and during the 2020–21 school year.
(b) (1) The authorization pursuant to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (i) of Section 1240 for a county superintendent of schools in a county with 200 or more schools that are ranked in any of deciles 1 to 3, inclusive, of the base Academic Performance Index (API), to use a combination of visits and written surveys of teachers for the purpose of determining sufficiency of textbooks and instructional materials in accordance with subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 60119 and as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 60119 is extended to every county superintendent of schools regardless of the number of schools in the county that are ranked in any of deciles 1 to 3, inclusive, of the base API.
(2) For purposes of the annual report required pursuant to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) of Section 1240, a county superintendent of schools may rely on information obtained only through means other than a physical visit to the schoolsite, including school administrator or teacher surveys. However, the report shall include a justification indicating why a schoolsite visit was not conducted and an outline of plans to conduct a schoolsite visit as soon as possible, and the county superintendent of schools shall provide an updated report before July 1, 2021.
(3) The requirement in subparagraph (H) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) of Section 1240 that the county superintendent of schools annually conduct a visit of schools is waived for any school that does not offer in-person instruction, as defined in Section 43500, from March 2020 to June 2021, inclusive. This waiver applies only for the time during which the school does not provide in-person instruction, and the county superintendent of schools shall make a plan to visit all necessary schoolsites as soon as possible, which must be noted in the outline required pursuant to paragraph (2). If, following the resumption of in-person instruction, a county superintendent of schools is unable to visit a schoolsite in sufficient time to include the observations in the report required pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 1240, any schoolsite not visited shall be prioritized for a visit as soon as possible during the following school year.
(4) The requirement in clause (iii) of subparagraph (H) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) of Section 1240 that 25 percent of the visits required by paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) of Section 1240 be unannounced is waived. An unannounced visit may be undertaken at the discretion of the county superintendent of schools in compliance with any orders or guidance issued by any local or state public health official.
(Added by Stats. 2020, Ch. 110, Sec. 2. (SB 820) Effective September 18, 2020.)